Languages
by daringtotry
Summary: Fionna takes up German lessons taught by Gumball, while Marshall Lee teaches her Latin on random days with hidden motives.
1. lazy monday nights

Fionna spent most of her weekdays with Gumball in his study, babbling incoherent sentences she could only assume was correct, considering the language was German. She initially asked the Prince on a lazy Wednesday afternoon as a sort of dare by Cake to learn, but Gumball took the halfhearted question quite seriously and she was unable to escape the strict Monday lessons he had set up with her.

After spending a couple hours locked up in the room, she shifted in her seat uncomfortably, a bit antsy to walk again due to her active nature, and politely excused herself to exit through the doors onto the balcony to a much welcomed cool breeze. Leaning against the candy coated ledge, she sighed heavily, willing her brain to relax and enjoy the night while she could for the ten minutes Gumball allowed her.

A cough deterred her from her thoughts, and she spluttered, holding a hand to her heart completely startled as she spotted the Vampire King sitting on the roof.

"Hey."

"Guten tag-"

A twitch of Marshall Lee's mouth let Fionna know she had blurted out the wrong language.

"Sie machte mir Angst-" She started again, before shaking her head violently and continuing, "Sorry."

"It's alright," he smirked, "I kind of enjoy knowing you don't remember how to speak English when granted with my presence."

_"Shut up."_

A rushing heat crawled up her neck and swarmed her face, Fionna's eyes darting away from Marshall's darkening ones, his eyes flickering from her cheeks to her eyes every now and then, sighing to himself while he attempted to ignore the quick appearance of blood.

He pushed himself upright, more so to study her movements as she took a step back in a mild self-defense move he's seen her do when she sensed danger.

Only he wasn't danger. Fionna was just being shy.

"Stop," she told him suddenly, pressing her cool hand to her cheek to feel the warmth beneath her fingertips. "Stop doing that every time this happens!"

He tilted his head at her, sending her a toothy grin, "Do what?"

"Every time I feel warm you're always there looking at me like you haven't been drinking anything for days. It creeps me the math out!" Fionna explained, waving her arms around for emphasis and in part frustration.

"Sorry," he offered lamely, flashing his fangs at her briefly before moving to stand. "You know it's-"

"Fionna!"

He stopped immediately, watching as Fionna turned away from him to face the Candy Kingdom Prince. Grumbling to himself and looking at Gumball with a steely expression and a quirked lip, he plopped back down to the cold roof.

"Gumball-" Fionna breathed, turning pink as he offered his arm to her politely. She took it hesitantly, giving him a small smile. "I know you said ten minutes but..."

"Seine feine," he told her, grinning as he motioned to the study, "Sind Sie bereit fur de zweite Halfte unserer Lehre zu beginnen?"

She faltered for a moment, her mind reeling with, _"What kind of language is that?_" And then another thought of, "_Oh right. German. Nice one Fionna_."

"Um, I'll be right there," She eventually responded, taking her arm back awkwardly and giving him a reassuring smile. "You go on ahead."

He nodded, turning away and humming thoughtfully as he went back to the study.

"Marshall Lee," She hissed as soon as Gumball was out of sight.

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

She whipped around, nearly colliding with the teenager as her elbow knocked against his nose.

He touched it briefly before turning to glare at her, "What was that for?"

"It was an accident- that didn't hurt?"

"Please, it takes a lot more than that to hurt me."

"Says the same guy who hides from the sun."

"Hey that stings! And I could potentially die from it!"

"So you carry a _parasol_."

"An _umbrella_. That_ happens_ to be a family heirloom."

"Who knew Marshall Lee was sentimental?"

"Did Gumball teach you how to use big words too?"

Frowning, Fionna kicked him in the shin. "It's been about three years since I've known you, and you're still the same."

"Okay _wow_, that hurt- but hey, you still love me," He raised his eyebrows, giving her a grin while holding his leg in attempt to soothe it.

"You look ridiculous," She told him simply, wringing her hands together before smoothing her skirt and nodding to him curtly. "Anyway, I need to get back to Gumball, I'll see you around, Marshall."

"Aww, leaving so soon?"

"Oh, and don't you have anything better to do than to spy on Gumball and me?"

"I wasn't spying-"

"_You were on the roof_. The roof above the room we happened to be in."

"I got lucky-"

"Bye, Marshall."

"But I'm bored!"

"Auf Wiedersehen!"

"_Fine_. Later, Fi."

* * *

><p>authors note:<p>

hi  
>i haven't written a story in forever, so i figured i'd start off my new year with getting into it again.<br>so here i am.  
>providing a mediocre story that i can't even understand since i don't know german, and i'm using google translate.<br>hopefully i'll get better later on in this thing, because when i'm going through a fixing stuff in there, i even think to myself: "_what am i even writing this isn't making sense what is this i mean what_" such as this ending because I don't think it sounds quite right. so anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully you'll stick around!

and in case you're wondering what this story will be about, i'm thinking along the lines of since marshall knows fionna's taking a language class with gumball, he's going to try and deter her from them by stealing her away any time he can and insist she should learn latin instead.  
>i really don't know where i'm going with this.<p>

-gigi


	2. gleam in his eye, bright as a rose

Marshall Lee offered Fionna Latin lessons with him a week after seeing her on Gumball's balcony.

They laid in a field with somewhat tall grass that went up to their ankles and some daisies laying around here and there after they spent the day running around looking for adventures, which they had no such luck - leading the day to be uneventful. The wind was nonexistent in the area and it was mostly quiet all around except for a couple of chirping from nearby birds in the surrounding trees, so Marshall Lee figured he'd break that silence. He was on his back, strumming his guitar absentmindedly while Fionna hummed thoughtfully next to him, curled up in a little ball.

"Hey Fi," he started, turning over to look at her eyes closed peacefully, "What do you think about Latin?"

"Latin?"

Bright blue eyes squinted back at him.

"Yeah."

"What about Latin?"

"_What do you think about it?_" Marshall repeated, frowning as he watched her stick out her tongue at him.

"I heard you, I just thought it was a weird thing to ask," She replied, sitting up.

"So what do you think of it?"

"Fine," Fionna sighed, exasperated that he was so pushy about it, "I think it's cool. Languages are cool."

"So what would you say to learning it?"

"Why?" She looked at him hard, furrowing her eyebrows.

She was _not_ going to learn another language when she had Gumball teaching her German every chance he got and every free time Fionna had –

* * *

><p>Hearing the telephone ring, Fionna picked it up with a yawn. "Hello?"<p>

_"Guten tag!"_

"PG?"

_"Haben keine Pläne für heute?"_

"Uh, PG, it's kind of six in the morning and my brain's not ready to learn."

_"In Deutsch, bitte, Fionna."_

"Nooooo PG, whyyyyyyyy. It's too early!"

_"Sie haben nur noch ein paar Tage bis zur Fionna, jetzt antwortet mir auf Deutsch."_

"_UGHHHHHHH_ fine, Guten Morgen Gumball," She groaned.

* * *

><p>No. Latin lessons were<em> not<em> happening.

"What if you were to learn Latin?" Marshall sat up too, hovering slightly above her, "I could teach you it. It'd be fun!"

Fionna was horrified.

* * *

><p>"Marshall Lee offered you<em> Latin lessons?<em>" Gumball scoffed, "Does he even know Latin?"

"I thought it was weird," Fionna shrugged, glancing around the Candy Kingdom's coffee shop. It was made up of thick white walls and bits of cinnamon sticks holding up chocolate that seemingly never melted that were used as tables, and when the light hit the place just right, the sugary contents on the walls would sparkle. "It was random."

"So what did you say?"

"You mean before I ran off?" Fionna grumbled, sinking down in her chair, twirling her empty cup that used to be filled with water in her hands. "I said no."

Gumball sighed, setting down his mocha down on the table, clasping his hands together and settling them under his chin. "Let's say Marshall does know Latin. From a viewpoint as your German instructor, learning another language such as Latin could be beneficial for you in communicating with people in the Nightosphere who may have wandered over… however as a friend, I think it's completely out of character for Marshall to suggest to teach something, then again Marshall's always full of surprises so maybe it's not."

"I guess," Fionna agreed, tipping her head back to look at the swirls of cinnamon on the roof of the café, "but I don't like it."

"Maybe you-"

"Fionna! _Oh glob_ I'm so glad you're here! Please help!"

Immediately throwing her backpack on her shoulders and leaping out of her seat, Fionna threw a quick apologetic look towards Gumball before rushing outside to help the candy corn.

"He was huge!" He explained as they jogged down the road towards the edge of the Kingdom, where the woods lay. "He look all our presents for the Prince's party and took off down there! It was horrible!"

"It's okay, I got this!" Fionna whopped, pumping a fist in the air and giving him a look of reassurance. "I'll be back in ten."

* * *

><p>Fionna skid across the beaten path, slowing the forced shove with a palm crushed against the dirt and the soles of her feet digging into the ground as well as she could with her flats. She huffed, standing straight again before combing her soaked bangs away from her face and then clasping both hands around her sword.<p>

"You're lucky Cake's not here," Fionna grumbled, beginning to move into a sprint to cut the mud beast roaring at her. Bits of wet dirt escaped from the beast's mouth, smudging her cheeks and she let out a whine of disgust from the back of her throat before leaping up onto its back and shoving a hand through the murky liquid.

Groping a hand around, she loosely grabbed ahold of a couple of rocks before her fingers brushed against a couple of vines, and then she pulled. Grinning, she yanked at the roots lodged inside the monster, and it came apart with a horrifying yowl, complete with waves of mud filled with rocks, grass, branches, and everything else it came in contact with – including the Candy People's gifts. Trudging her way through the thick sludge, Fionna gathered up the presents in her backpack, and the ones she couldn't she held piled up in her arms.

"Need help?"

Whipping around she nearly dropped the presents, scowling at Marshall Lee hovering above her, who was smiling at her obvious discomfort.

"Do you always have to scare people like that, dude? Makes me feel all…_ blegh,_" Fionna scowled, shivering for a moment before continuing on through the mud. "These presents! I don't know what the candy people have in here, but it's insane! It weighs a ton!"

"Like I said, need help?"

"Would you?"

"Sure."

There was a long pause with no movement from either of them, before Fionna broke it with a quirk of her brow and an exasperated sigh. "I'm guessing you won't help me without me doing something for you?"

"Pretty much," Marshall chuckled, swooping down just enough so his feet couldn't touch the sludge. "I'll help if you agree to those Latin lessons."

"No way dude," Fionna retorted. "They aren't_ that_ heavy, I can take them myself."

"Aww come on Fi!"

"No."

"Not even for some-" He clicked his tongue, "-armor?"

"No." She continued walking.

"What if I sang you a song?"

"Gumball already has, and I said no."

"He what? That must've been _awful_-"

"It was nice."

"Are you talking about the time he threw that one ball? Wasn't that the Ice Queen?"

_"Awwwww man I forgot!"_

"So do you agree?"

"_No_, Marshall, my answer is still no."

"How about a sword you can only get from the Nightosphere?"

"…"

"I knew it."

"_Shut up."_

* * *

><p>wow im so sorry its been like six days<br>i was planning on writing chapter three right after this but its 3:37am right now  
>so i'll just write it when i wake up later today.<br>and this chapter's short and kinda eh  
>so i'll make it up with chapter three or something idk<p> 


	3. rumor has it

Fionna walked towards Marshall's house slowly, dragging her feet across the sand and pushing her bangs away from her face as she reached the porch. She hesitated a little, looking at the house looming before her in the dim light from the moon, gathering up her courage to knock on the wooden door.

Marshall Lee beat her to it, however, popping the door open with a click and poking his head outside to greet her with a smile.

"Hey!"

"Hey."

He gestured for her to come inside and she did, looking around the house she had been familiarized with over the years. His couch was still unbearable to sit in, so she stood where she was, looking at him expectantly as he roamed around in the kitchen. Marshall was fidgeting; hovering around the area and grabbing a couple of random items that were different shades of red placed on the island, and sucked the color out of a skinny tie. The color turned to a dull grey and Fionna quirked a brow at him, he was being unusually quiet and he normally didn't drink ties, preferring bowties.

"I thought that was your favorite tie?" She questioned, walking closer over to him and leaning on the counter.

"Look Fionna-" he babbled immediately, running a hand through his choppy black hair, "- I might've not told you everything…"

"What?" She asked lowly, watching with suspicious eyes as he grabbed for a scarlet candle.

"I kind of… maybe… sort of…"

"Marshall."

"Okay Itoldmymomyouweremygirlfriend – don't freak out! She was bugging me about it and how '_that Ashley girl was nice why did you dump her over a silly_ _toy_' and it _wasn't a silly toy okay Fionna_ it _wasn't_ Hambo was _awesome _he was my best bud-"

"Marshall! You told your mom _what?_ After I kicked her bum back in the Nightosphere?" Fionna was incredulous, this was _not_ happening, and Marshall Lee had to be the _biggest _moron she's ever known. "_She hates me_!"

"She doesn't hate you-"

She sent him a glare that cut him off and he groaned.

"Okay maybe she does but that's beside the point – just… come on Fionna! Help me out here!"

"What the zip Marshall!" Fionna yelled at him, snatching a pink ball from the counter and chucking it at his head, which then bounced off somewhere in the room, "Then why'd you ask me to take Latin! I agreed to the lessons, not this!"

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just do that, and I told my mom you knew Latin and she bought it."

"What does Latin have to do with anything!"

"Well, we're all kind of required to. It's like an ancient language, you know? Our ancestors have spoken it for a while, and everyone just kind of… knows it. Every demon, every skeleton, every vampire, everyone knows Latin in the Nightosphere."

"So you're having me learn Latin to impress your mother."

"Pretty much."

"So she's coming over soon?"

"I guess you could say tha-"

**"_Marshall Lee!"_**

Fionna shot a glare at Marshall, the vampire's eyes widening as his mother stormed into the room, dressed in a simple grey business dress, her long hair placed delicately atop her head in a bun, her eyes immediately fixing on Fionna. She unbuttoned her coat, setting it on the dinner table, eyes unwavering from Fionna's face, set on studying the young girl's movements. The adventurer bowed her head sheepishly, walking quietly towards her and extending an arm.

"Um, hi, Ms…. Um…"

"Oh don't even bother, just call me Marshall's mom," She told her sharply, storming over to her son who seemed to shrink down in size as she got closer.

"Quomodo te habes herois ac ipsum! Cur vos iustus ut purus Ashley? Scis me ad civitatem occurrerunt ei Vola altera nocte, vox? Oh esset tam dulce-"

"Mom!" Marshall pleaded, backing away slightly and looking towards Fionna for help.

"Uh, Ms. Marshall's mom?" Fionna blurted to avert her attention, frightened as his mother spun on her heel to face her with fierce eyes.

"And _you_," She sneered at her, "Do you even understand Latin? This is unbelievable oh good grief, _of course _my son would be the only vampire to decide to be with… a _human_… Oh how embarrassing… What am I to tell the girls at work? They'll be shocked to hear the news."

"Mom it's no big deal…" Marshall said, floating to her side, "Fionna's cool."

"No, Marshall. Did you hear about the time she-" his mother pointed a thumb in Fionna's direction, "-met Death? While she was there I heard a lot of beings tried to catch her and her little cat friend."

"She's my sister-"

"_She's a cat._ Anyhoo, if you think that just sounds dangerous, could you imagine her coming into the Nightosphere? They'd tear her limb from limb!"

"I doubt they'd attack her mom – I _am_ the King after all…"

"Honey," His mom tapped a foot against the tile floor, her heels clacking in a repetitive rhythm as she crossed her arms, lips pursed in thought, "Everyone has been wondering when you'd return. You hardly keep in touch and it's a miracle how things are still running smoothly. Now that you have her as your girlfriend, your people have been wondering when they'd get to meet her."

"Mom, I'm not getting married! She's just my girlfriend."

"You haven't had a girlfriend in years Marshall Lee. I swear if you don't visit the Nightosphere… Disperdam vos in manu mea et scindet te medium, emisit spiritum. Ut intelligas me, Marshall Lee?" she ended with a snarl, watching her son flinch.

"Yes, mom."

"Good, now that we all understand each other, I'll be on my way."

She looked at Fionna pointedly, giving her a curt nod while Fionna returned the gesture somewhat unsure of whether to say something, Marshall hovering next to her side and bringing up a hand to place on her shoulder for comfort.

"Te diligo, Marshall ... et cum in eam accipere Nightosphere, planto certus non est indutusilla horrida veste candida nimis sit valde. Plus est etiam quomodo illa foeda portem... I'll visit again next month."

His mom took her coat, draping it over her frame and then warping her features, hues of blue and grey swirling together in a hazy mist until there was nothing left.

"That was intense," Fionna remarked after she was sure she had left, while Marshall flipped off the general area his mother had been standing in.

"She needs to mind her own business," He grumbled next to her, stepping onto the floor and trotting over to the counter to grab an apple. "She's such a bitch sometimes."

Fionna grimaced, joining him at the counter before she propped herself up on it, sitting with her feet swinging over the edge. "She just wants what's best for you."

"Doubt it," He snorted, poking a fang into the apple's skin.

Fionna sighed, twisting her hands together in thought, glancing at Marshall Lee who was suddenly much more closed off than before his mother had arrived.

"I'll help you," She told him quietly, "I help people in need, so why stop now?"

"You sure you wanna do this?" He asked her, tossing the apple in the garage bin, "You'll have to go into the Nightosphere sometimes."

"It's a stupid idea," She muttered, pushing her bangs away from her face, "but I think I can handle it."

Marshall Lee hummed in agreement, slumping down until he hit the floor with a thump, leaning his head on the counter as he sat on the floor.

"Oh hey, what'd she say before she left?" Fionna asked, tilting her head down to look at him.

"She said your outfit was pretty."

* * *

><p>"You agreed to being<em> Marshall Lee the Vampire King's girlfriend?<em>" Gumball spluttered, choking on his tea. Fionna sat up in alarm, but he waved a hand at her while he coughed, grabbing a napkin to dab at the spilled tea on the table.

"It's no big deal, really…" She told him, taking a bite out of a cupcake to comfort her nerves with the food.

"You have to introduce yourself to the people of the Nightosphere…_ in Latin_," Gumball pointed out, waving his teaspoon in the air for emphasis. "I still don't understand how you agree to him but not accept_ my_ offer for a date-"

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

"Pretend girlfriend, then," Prince Gumball stated, "This is a serious matter, regardless."

"I know…"

"Ashley's going to try to hurt on you once she catches sight of you."

"I know…"

"You'll be in her territory then, you won't be in Aaa."

"Yeah."

"I want to go with you."

Fionna looked up in shock, meeting Gumball's smiling eyes and sheepish expression.

"You can't- I mean… you could get hurt!" Fionna told him, shooting up from her seat. She paced around the table, worry filling her features as she rambled off why he couldn't join her. Gumball smiled at her concern, getting up from his chair to steady her with his hands on her shoulders and he grinned at her.

"It'll be fine, I mastered in martial arts and fencing when I was younger."

"Dude, you still get kidnapped by the Ice Queen sometimes… no offence," Fionna muttered, crossing her arms. "There's no way I'm letting you."

"That's a shame, because Marshall Lee already has."

* * *

><p><em>Quomodo te habes herois ac ipsum! Cur vos iustus ut purus Ashley? Scis me ad civitatem occurrerunt ei Vola altera nocte, vox? Oh esset tam dulce<em> = something on the lines of "why did you dump ashley for this heroine oh ashley was so sweet" i lost the english translation for this and i tried to check it on google translate again but it was just random...

_Disperdam vos in manu mea et scindet te medium, emisit spiritum. Ut intelligas me, Marshall Lee?_ = I will cut you in half with my own hands and tear you to shreds. Do you understand me, Marshall Lee?

_Te diligo, Marshall ... et cum in eam accipere Nightosphere, planto certus non est indutusilla horrida veste candida nimis sit valde. Plus est etiam quomodo illa foeda portem_ ...= I love you, Marshall... and when you take her to the Nightosphere, make sure she isn't wearing that horrid clothing, it's much too bright. Plus it's filthy how could she even wear it...

i think of gumball as a best friends forever type to fionna.  
>he just teases her about dating her sometimes.<p>

WHY are these chapters so short sigh and they take hours to make


	4. some say it's better, but i say it ain't

Fionna sat with her legs crossed, humming a tune Gumball could vaguely remember Fionna telling him the Ice Queen had sang while she was impersonating him, but Fionna had grown a little fond of it, so she had been singing the soft tunes and the occasional phrases afterwards for a good ten minutes.

They were both seated on his bed, the chamber mostly quiet besides the obvious such as Fionna's voice, and the few times Gumball would chime in with the lyrics he'd picked up on. He was focused on braiding her hair for the most part, gathering the ends and twisting them into a fishtail braid, or at least trying to, since her hair was so short and extremely choppy.

When Fionna let him unclasp her hat, he could feel her tense under his warm fingertips as his knuckles brushed against her neck to unbutton the clasp, but she relaxed well enough when she caught his smile. He didn't look surprised in the least, only mumbling, "I thought it would be longer."

She frowned at him, because of course Gumball wouldn't be phased by seeing her without her hat for the first time.

So here he was now, finishing up on the braid and tucking her bangs all the while making sure they were secured by a bobby pin that somewhat resembled a candy cane, and he nodded appreciatively at his work.

Fionna reached behind her to thumb at the braid softly, feeling the smooth ridges and texture and she grinned, twisting around to look at him to see him on his knees, hands pressed at his thighs to smooth out the wrinkles in his sweatpants.

"Thanks PG!" She said, clasping her hands together and leaping off the bed. "Wait till I show Cake in the morning!"

"You're welcome," He replied, until realization dawned on his face and he squinted at her suspiciously. "What do you mean_ 'in the morning'_?"

"Tonight's the night for a sleepover!" She explained, skipping her way over to the two double doors and swinging them open, padding her way down through the corridor before Gumball scrambled from the bed, trotting a little ways down until he caught up with the adventurer.

"Did Cake agree to this? She tried to rip my face off the last time we were together."

"That was a mistake, and it was the Ice Queen. Besides PG, we've known each other for years! It's fine. I told Cake."

"Fine…" He agreed eventually, crossing his arms while walking with her down to the kitchen. "Don't you need pajamas?"

"I'm already wearing them," She motioned at her red one piece that somehow looked incredibly itchy and uncomfortable to be in. Gumball wondered how she could wear it.

They arrived into Gumball's spacious kitchen where he usually baked most of the food presented at his parties, and Fionna made a beeline for the island in the center, sitting on a wooden stool and tapping her fingers on the edge of the counter like a drum.

"What's on the menu chef?" She grinned as he opened his refrigerator.

Gumball ran a hand through his tousled pink hair before taking out a couple eggs and other necessities as he asked Fionna to check the cabinets in the left for some flour. She found it after a few seconds, placing it on the table and they agree to make cupcakes and not a whole cake.

"Do you have any aprons?"

"Open the pantry door and there should be some hanging."

Fionna ended up taking a rainbow striped one for her and wrapped it around herself, tying in a nice bow she was sure Cake would be proud of, and grabbed one with a cute picture of a cat for a Gumball.

Gumball put it on himself willingly enough, so she was disappointed she couldn't tease him over it.

He poured the flour into a porcelain bowl and had Fionna pour in the water and eggs as he whisked it. Flour managed to escape the bowl and onto Fionna's nose, and she wiped it away with her hand and moved to crack another egg, but Gumball waved her off, telling her to wash her hands or she's not going anywhere near the batter anytime soon.

You shouldn't mess with Gumball when he's baking.

"Man I don't wanna sit here for half an hour," She complained, her legs bouncing in her seat from her active nature after she thoroughly washed her hands due to Gumball's request.

"We could do karaoke," Gumball ends up suggesting after a few minutes.

So that's what they do. While waiting for the cupcakes to bake, they head into the next room where a small microphone is connected to some speakers and a music player, thick plum curtains covering the windows leaving the room darkened and sort of more sophisticated than the rest of the castle's cheery colors. Couches and armchairs are in different shades of white and spaced out in a circle with a long black coffee table placed in the middle. There was a sparkling white grand piano off in the corner as well, but Fionna paid no attention to that though, padding over to a regular microphone on its stand, ready to sing with Gumball.

They were both stumped on what to sing for a while, Gumball suggested a Broadway number which Fionna shook her head at, and when she suggested a pop tune he scrunched up his nose in distaste.

"Well then _what_-" Fionna started, only to be interrupted by a tapping on the window and she froze, taking tiny steps back and slowly making her way to hide behind one of the plum drapes.

Gumball quirked an eyebrow at her, walking over to the window to unlatch it, until Fionna came bustling by his side to do it for him.

"If it's the Ice Queen, I'm basically handing you to her," She reasoned, stepping forward and standing on the tips of her toes to flick the latch upward.

The person behind the window slid it and hopped in, all wet black hair and soaked clothes with a guitar strapped to their back and Fionna almost considered laughing before running for the hills.

"Marshall Lee," Gumball mutters, "It's a pleasure to see you."

"It's raining," Marshall ignored Gumball, turning to Fionna. "It's_ raining_ and there's lessons today and _I told you specifically seven pm_ and what time is it now? Almost _nine_, and it's_ raining_. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"We've been doing that like almost every day," Fionna groaned, walking away from him to plop on an armchair.

"My mom's coming back in a month! What am I supposed to do when you don't know Latin!"

"Chill out dude! I'm a pro at this!" Fionna shrugged, momentarily startled when she felt cold fingers poking at the nape of her neck to fumble with her braid.

"And since when do you let your hair out?"

"Haven't you seen it before?"

"No!"

"Oh. Well, uh, this is my hair without my hat," Fionna said awkwardly. "… Hair, meet Marshall. Marshall, meet my hair."

"It's nice," He said after a long moment, taking his hand away to hover slightly above the couch. "But what happened to it?"

"Chopped it off for an ugly witch," Fionna said bitterly, crossing her arms and snuggling a little bit more into the couch.

"Ugly huh?"

"Made me want to throw up," She exaggerated.

He nodded as if she knew what she was talking about.

"So what's going on?" He asked, forgiving Fionna for the moment until he could get back at her sometime in the following week.

Gumball sat himself across from the two in an armchair, plucking through various sheet music he had gathered from the piano's top, shuffling through songs.

"We wanted to sing," Gumball told Marshall simply, "But then you arrived."

"What? No dude, I'm the singing master," He replied easily enough. "_I live for this shit_."

Gumball raised an eyebrow at him, pausing momentarily to look at Marshall. "Then what would you suggest?"

"What can you play?"

"On the piano?"

"_No, Gumball, the drums_."

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes Gumball, the piano! I can see it right there!"

"This is ridiculous," Gumball sighed, handing Marshall the sheet music when he floated close enough.

"What about this one?" He asked, fingers skimming over the page before handing it back to Gumball.

Gumball smiled, though it was a bit more of a smirk with the corner of his mouth twitching upward at Marshall's suggestion.

"You'd sing this?" He snorted at the idea.

"I've got my guitar right here, I don't see why not," Marshall scowled at him. "What? I can't sing songs that don't involve sucking blood?"

Fionna watched with curious eyes as Gumball sighed, getting up from the couch to sit by the piano, sitting with a perfect posture and fingers hovering over certain keys. Marshall twisted his guitar strap around, strumming his fingers over the strings experimentally, and all sounding like a jumble of noises until he managed to create a soft melody.

"Hey man, aren't I going to sing too?" Fionna questioned after he had stopped, crossing her arms.

"Sur-"

"Nah, consider this one's for you."

Gumball's expression turned a little grim before going back to the piano keys, starting out softly and gradually picking up as he went along.

"_Come on Virginia_," Marshall crooned at last, strumming his guitar and letting his feet touch his floor to walk along the room. "_Don't let me wait_."

"_You Catholic girls start much too late… but sooner or later it comes down to fate, I might as well be the one_…" He closed his eyes while singing, shaking his head from side to side in a rhythm to match the song as his hair flicked around repeatedly. He moved to the beat as he danced over to Fionna's side, tugging at her short braid.

"_Well they showed you a statue, told you to pray; they built you a temple and locked you away_,"

She laughed at him, clapping her hands excitedly as she heard Gumball chime in too.

"_But they never told you the price that you pay, for things that you might have done_…" He sang along, dancing a little in his seat as Marshall's voice blended in.

"_Only the good die young_!"

Marshall made his way over to Gumball, playing his guitar by his side until he grew bored of it, eventually hopping onto the piano to sit on it, swinging his legs over the edge.

_"You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd_," He sang, "_We ain't too pretty, we ain't too proud. We might be laughing a bit too loud, but that never hurt no one_..."

Gumball took over then when Marshall motioned for him to continue.

"_So come on Virginia, show me a sign, send up a signal and I'll throw you the line_," He laughed along.

"_The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind, you know_," Marshall winked at Fionna whose face turned a lovely shade of pink. "_Never lets in the sun_…"

"_Only the good die young_!" The boys' voices sang, and Fionna decided to chime in during the chorus.

"_Only the good die young_!"

She leapt from the couch, hopping everywhere and dancing around her way in the room, shaking her head to the tune while the boys continued with the song.

After a while, Marshall ended the last verse, finishing the last note and letting the noise hang in the air until it faded out, Gumball laughing in the corner, and Fionna giving out a breathy laugh of her own after it ended. Gumball got up from the piano bench to plop down on a laced-patterned couch, stretching out his arms and Marshall twisted his guitar around again, floating up in the air after all the walking. Fionna was sitting on the armrest of a chair opposite of Gumball, shaking away her bangs that had become loose from all the dancing.

"That was mathematical," She said, beaming at the two boys across from her.

Gumball's flushed cheeks told her his reply would be sheepish, and Marshall Lee's a possible cocky remark by the way he smirked and held his head higher, but Fionna flew out of her seat, running through the door and out into the corridor.

"_Oh my glob the cupcakes_!"

* * *

><p>i wanted to continue with the rest of the song but i was like WOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE LAST MONTH i'll just post it now<br>im so sorry.  
>also the song's "only the good die young" by billy joel. i was listening to my glee playlist and it came up and i was like oh good<br>it's a fun song. "i'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints" i really wanted to add this part because i think it's fitting for Marshall, but yeeeah  
>anyway i'm really going to try and update sooner than i have been, but it's tough with school =_=<br>also i love gumball and fionna okay they are adorbs


	5. one more spoon of cough syrup

"Gumball!" Fionna called, leaping up and landing on the bed with a thump as it moved obnoxiously from the impact. "Wake up! It's Valentine's Day!"

Yawning, the Prince sat up, running a hand through his tousled hair, offering a weak smile towards the hyperactive blonde. Glancing at the clock, his mouth dropped in surprise.

"Fionna, it's three in the morning."

"I figured we could get a head start on that party! Besides, don't you wake up early anyway?"

"Not this early," He replied simply, stretching before collapsing back on the bed and throwing the covers back over his head. "Now go back home, and go to sleep."

"_Gumballlllll!_"

"Why don't you find Marshall? This is his hour, right? The time when he's usually roaming that is."

Fionna sighed, climbing towards the pillow to slip under the covers and make herself comfortable by his side, promptly throwing the blankets back over until they were snuggled tightly. And then she waited.

"What are you doing?"

"Sleeping."

Gumball fidgeted for a moment before he let out a huff of annoyance, throwing the covers over and glaring at Fionna's blinking eyes.

He grabbed for the phone on the nightstand placed beside the bed, dialing numbers swiftly and holding the phone patiently by his ear as he waited.

Fionna looked on with confused eyes, moving to sit up by her elbows, watching as Gumball smiled in relief.

"Good morning!"

Gumball's mouth was in a thin line as the other responded back, and there was a hint of frustration briefly flickering in his purple eyes, and then it vanished.

"No I don't want to—ugh just stop, no that's unprofessional- I do _not_ wish to be your date this evening—would you let me speak!"

Gumball groaned, and then bit out a, "You did _not _just say that."

"I need you to get her out of the kingdom," He stated after a while, twirling the white chord on his finger. "I don't care if you're on the other side of Aaa, just take her!"

She could hear loud laughter and then the phone clicked, Gumball staring at it for a moment in annoyance before placing it back onto the receiver, falling back onto the sheets.

"What do you mean get her out of the kingdom?" Fionna eyed the Prince, squinting at his sheepish expression.

The bedroom door snapped open, and then walked in Marshall Lee, dressed casually with hands stuffed in his jean pockets, flicking his hair to have it placed properly so he could actually see his surroundings without his bangs falling into his face – and then motioned for Fionna.

"That was fast," Gumball remarked thoughtfully.

"Let's go Fionna, I think you've been with Bubba long enough."

"What the _zip!_" She screeched, sitting up now and glaring at Gumball with a side glance at Marshall. "You told him to come get me?"

"Consider it early training to be Marshall's girlfriend," Gumball mumbled, throwing his face into his pillow with a groan. "I'll see you later on at the party."

Fionna scrunched her nose, looking up at Marshall Lee who was now by the foot of the bed, holding out his hand.

"Let's go Fi."

* * *

><p>"Man, I feel so betrayed," Fionna moaned, walking along the outskirts of the kingdom with Marshall.<p>

"You act as if I'm bad company," He pouted, floating by her side as he strummed his guitar.

"Sorry," She ducked her head, looking up at a tree that looked easy enough to climb, so she did, clambering up branches until she was seated on a sturdy one, swinging her feet over the edge as she adjusted her backpack.

"Tired?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, lightly playing _Mommy, why did you eat my fries?_

"Naw dude," She shook her head, sighing a pressing a palm to her forehead. "I just wondering how to even start being your pretend girlfriend."

"Random much?" He teased her, slipping by her side. "My mom doesn't come for another week and a couple of days, all you need to do is get your Latin down pat and dress… like it was a function of Gumball's."

"That sounds too easy to be true," She mumbled more to herself, letting her head fall back against the tree trunk.

"Maybe," He replied, "but for now we can just relax."

* * *

><p>Fionna's relaxing time didn't last long. The atmosphere changed for her. It was charged with a spark that tingled Fionna's arms and was different than the damp air at the moment, the adrenaline of danger creeping up her spine. She jolted up from her position next to Marshall, feet poised in perfect balance and blue eyes sharp on the lookout for anything unusual; but there, in the distance, she could see flames engulfing a tree and she boiled with anger.<p>

"_What the cabbage_," She snarled, pulling one of her weaker swords she'd accidently packed the other day.

"What's goin' on?" Marshall questioned, floating a little higher next to her, looking for the source.

"I don't know, but we're gonna find out," She gritted. "Let's go."

They ran quickly, or at least Fionna did while Marshall swooped around the area scouting for any falling debris that could potentially harm the both of them.

"Oh glob, how does a fire start all the way out here?" Fionna huffed, grimacing at the ash covered tree beside her. She walked through the flames, in the little trail that wasn't covered completely with grime, and Marshall trailed after her with a hesitant pace.

"Fi, I don't know if…"

With a shriek, Fionna scurried back, shaking her palm rapidly in the air. She hissed as tears sprung into her eyes, bringing her hand to her mouth to blow against the wound to soothe the burn. Her sword was charred to nothing; only the handle was left on the floor, abandoned.

Marshall began to move towards her, but as he did so, a walking flame approached the young human and he stood there, momentarily stunned.

"Oh, sorry."

Fionna looked up in fear and part curiosity as the man before her kneeled down to examine her wound as much as he could without physically touching her, but despite that, he could see a hint of sweat coating Fionna's forehead from the heat, so he moved away with a bow of his head and an apologetic look.

Fionna looked at his fiery mohawk and took in his appearance, and she thanked glob that her face was already heated from the fires that her blush wasn't as obvious.

Marshall looked on with irritation.

"Forgive me," The man said, flames stooping low on his body until he was just pink skin. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the Flame Prince."

He extended a hand for Fionna to take, and she did, flinching a little as their hands touched and then relaxed after feeling no burns, only warmth. The Prince moved to give a courtesy kiss to Fionna's hand, but Marshall stepped in, giving a fang-filled smile that wouldn't be deemed necessary or very much friendly, grabbing Fionna's other hand and pulling her away to be at his side.

"Marshall Lee, the Vampire King," he said simply.

The Flame Prince rose himself to full height, giving a curt nod as his eyes slid between the two's entwined hands.

His flames began again in an instant, leaving a startled Fionna squeezing onto Marshall's bicep for reassurance.

"Sorry, without my fire… I feel a little bare," The Prince explained. "I hope you know that I feel sorry for this mishap."

He gestured to the slowly dying flames, and the shrunken trees surrounding the area.

Marshall gave a little indignant snort, earning him a hard elbow to the stomach from Fionna.

"Ah, it's cool," Fionna faltered a little as she surveyed his mohawk once more.

The Flame Prince gave her a smile and nodded. "I was a little angry…."

"Like we couldn't tell," Marshall took his hand away from Fionna's, crossing his arms instead and raising a brow.

Fionna brushed her palms on her skirt, grasping her backpack straps and lifting a foot to continue walking.

"Um, the Candy Kingdom Prince is throwing a Valentine's Day party… it's not my place, but would you…"

Marshall almost groaned at how annoying the whole situation was.

"Fionna," he started.

"Will you… uh, would you like to join m-"

"Fionna."

"-us to his party? I'm sure Gumball wouldn't mind."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden," The Flame Prince frowned.

Marshall rolled his eyes.

"No, it's fine, he really wouldn't mind."

"Then I'll come."

Fionna smiled, tucking her bangs away with a blush before walking a little ways forward, though away from the kingdom.

"We should stop by my house so I can get ready, then we can head over to Marshall's."

* * *

><p>"Fionna!" Cake shrieked, "You're filthy!"<p>

"I know," Fionna grumbled, "Let me explain…"

"Was it Marshall? Did he shove you into a ditch again?"

"No!" Fionna shook her head, "You'll never believe it!"

"Believe _what_?" Cake prodded, tapping a foot against the wooden floor.

"I met a Prince!"

"Yes, Fionna, that's what you usually find around here."

"No, I mean, the Flame Prince-"

"_The Flame Prince_? Fionna _what _have you been doing while I was out shopping with Monochromicorn? There's _no way_ to get to the Fire Kingdom."

"He was by the Candy Kingdom!" Fionna exclaimed, taking Cake by the hand to pull her around the corner.

Cake's eyes shifted between the Vampire King leisurely floating above her couch, and the Flame Prince awkwardly standing off to the side, careful not the touch anything.

"_Marshall_!" Fionna groaned, "I thought I told you to take care of him!"

Marshall only shrugged.

"You brought them _here_?" Cake asked, a bit incredulous.

"Yes! Just so I can get changed and then we'll be off, I swear!"

"Oh dear," Cake muttered. "You'll need more time than to just change. Go, shower and I'll make these boys some tea... or something."

Fionna nodded, scrambling up the stairs to shower as Cake made her way into the kitchen, grabbing the necessities and a packet of red food coloring.

* * *

><p>Fionna wrung her hair, getting rid of the excess water to brush it through with a rather flimsy comb, frowning as it got stuck a few times due to knots. Once she finished with that, she let it dry on its own, opening her closet to scan the clothing hanging. She took out a simple dress Cake helped her out with to be festive, the top half of what appeared to be a black v-neck, stopping near where her belly button would be with a white skinny belt, and a red skirt stopping to rest at her knees with a black trim. She pulled it on in a hurry, glancing at the clock in the corner to see the blaring 6 p.m. staring back at her. The party would begin at seven.<p>

She pulled on her biking shorts to be under her skirt, because she never knew when she might need to run or fight any annoying beings… such as the Ice Queen, plus, they had to trek back to Marshall's, right?

She slipped on her normal flats too, deeming them good enough to match with her dress, and she pulled her bunny hat atop of her now dried hair, sparing another glance at the clock which now read 6:20, and she scrunched her nose in confusion.

Time went by too fast nowadays.

She headed out of her bedroom door, climbing down wooden steps to the living room where she found Marshall Lee staring at a wall in boredom.

"Okay, ready," She called to him, and he turned.

He stayed silent, eyes sliding only a little ways down her figure until he seemingly caught himself, hands twitching until they reached to fix his jacket's cuffs.

"Uh, hey?" She tried again, oblivious.

"Oh, hey!" He replied, walking forward. "You look great, Fi."

"Thanks," She beamed at him, motioning for him to follow her to the door. "We just need to find Cake and Flame Prince then we can go."

They found the two in the kitchen, talking animatedly about _what's the best temperature for your tea?_ and _are there cats in the Fire Kingdom? _which Fionna gave a weird look at.

"Hey guys," She yelled. "Let's go, we gotta be at Gumball's by seven!"

"You guys go, Monochromicorn is picking me up in five," Cake gushed, kicking her legs as she was seated on the stool, showing her excitement.

"Alright dude, see ya later."

* * *

><p>They made it to Marshall Lee's in one piece, thankful they hadn't encountered any lingering monsters looking to fight like they did some days before, and they all rushed into the warmth of Marshall Lee's house.<p>

He left the fireplace on for his dog, who was out of sight and didn't appear to be in the home.

"Where does he go?" Fionna asked, swinging her legs back and forth on the stool just as Cake did, but not as exaggerated.

"Dunno," Marshall shrugged, grabbing at apple from the fridge. "He's a free dog. Anyway, help yourselves to anything."

The Flame Prince and Fionna only nodded.

No one moved for a while, and it was silent.

"Um, aren't you going to change?" Fionna asked, declining Marshall's grey-scaled apple he offered her, with a shake of her head.

"And leave you here with him? Alone?" Marshall grunted. "As if."

"Dude," Fionna groaned, "We're not going to do anything."

"I don't care," He muttered, leaning against the countertop. "I'm not getting changed and we aren't leaving until one of you, preferably that kid-" he hitched a thumb in the Prince's direction, "-goes outsides and waits."

"That's rude," Fionna scowled, "I'll go wait outside if you're going to be so pushy over this."

"Be my guest," He growled, leaving for the stairs and beginning to shed off his jacket.

Fionna gave the Flame Prince an apologetic look and he did as well, conflicted on where he stood and he kept to himself in the kitchen as Fionna slammed Marshall's screen door open, shutting it with force as she stomped on his porch, plopping herself down on the steps with her face in her hands.

She looked up briefly, watching as his room's light clicked on and she heard a rush of water coming from the pipes behind her. She thrummed her fingers on the wooden steps, attempting to beatbox out the tune of Only the Good Die Young when there was a tap from the window above.

She glanced up again, seeing Marshall lounging on his roof, jacket and shirt pulled off leaving him in his tanktop, and sweats.

"Aren't you supposed to be showering?"

"You do know the Candy Kingdom is candy, right?"

Fionna gave a little sound of annoyance. "Of course I do."

"And the fact the Flame Prince is made up of flames doesn't bother you?"

"What are you getting at dude?"

"I'm saying Gumball might not be so happy with this guy you're bringing with you."

Fionna rolled her eyes. "Go shower, Marshall."

"Whatever. I'm gonna hurry so we can get out of here before the party starts and Gumball throws a fit, and before Mr. Flame Prince over there starts a bonfire in my kitchen." He went through his window before Fionna could respond, but he threw a sweater down, hitting Fionna on the head which she gave a surprised squeak at.

"What's this for?" She called.

"You looked cold."

* * *

><p>"She invited who?" Gumball muttered next to Marshall Lee, hand pressed against his forehead in frustration.<p>

"_The fucking Flame Prince_," Marshall Lee sneered, leaning against a wall with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"He's made of fire," Gumball thought out loud. "He's made of fire and my kingdom is candy, my people are candy, and half of them are flammable and or capable of melting."

"I tried to tell her," Marshall Lee grumbled, "It was annoying how she looked at him though."

Gumball quirked an eyebrow at his words.

"Did it make you angry?" He joked, glancing at the vampire.

"What? No," Marshall Lee replied, shooting Gumball a glare. "It was just so gross."

"You're supposed to be her imaginary boyfriend for a couple of weeks, and you can't even spend Valentine's Day with her right," Gumball tutted, wagging a finger at him. "I call you in hopes for you to actually have some chemistry your mother can detect, and what happens? Another Prince comes and steals her away in a matter of minutes. Smart move, Marshall Lee."

"Shut up Gumball, you called me so you could _sleep_, and besides, this is only happening until my mother leaves, then she won't be back for a couple of years."

"Right," Gumball replied sarcastically, tilting his head back onto the wall.

"Don't test me," Marshall smirked, hints of playfulness and some blood lust lingering in his eyes. "Your neck is right there easy enough to bite."

Gumball threw his head back to laugh, "With that look it seems as if you're trying to seduce me, not scare me."

"You're attractive, I'm attractive, it would be hot," Marshall shrugged, pushing himself off the wall and his hands out of his pockets to run a hand through his hair.

"Always the charmer," Gumball sighed with a shake of his head, "How I wonder why Fionna chose the Flame Prince over you."

"With this number I'm about to do, I'm sure she'll change her mind."

So with a toothy grin, he flew off, leaving a confused Gumball in the wake.

* * *

><p>Gumball had to admit, when he heard the first beats of the song, he may have already begun to dance with a willing partner by his side, until he heard Marshall Lee open his mouth.<p>

"When I walk on by-"

Gumball's ears burned with hot embarrassment, because this is _no_t what distinguished Princes who run Kingdoms dance to. His eyes scanned the dancing crowd to see Fionna with her eyes locked to the stage, mouth parted open in shock as she watched the lousy vampire dance a bit inappropriately with his microphone stand.

"Oh my word," He buried his face in his hands for a moment to compose himself.

"_Look at that body_," Marshall breathed into the microphone in the meantime.

Gumball spared another glance at Fionna, who was blushing at Marshall's heated words flowing throughout the room and was trying to convince the Flame Prince to sit this one out, and that she wasn't entirely comfortable dancing to it.

Or at least he hoped so.

Gumball scurried to the stage, unplugging Marshall's microphone with an abrupt _zip!_ and throwing the chord at his body.

"No, you are _not _singing that song!" He shouted at him, scrambling onto the stage to claw to rebellious teen.

"You're so ridiculous! You think this song would work? What in the world were you thinking?" He grabbed at Marshall's arm, digging into a bit more than necessary to drag him to the side of the stage.

"You're lucky the Kingdom's all here, or so help me you would be in a _world_ of pain," He growled into the vampire's elfin ear.

"_Alright, _don't get your panties in a twist!"

And with that, Gumball threw him off the stage with a huff.

* * *

><p>Fionna curled her arms around the now extinguished Prince, trying to ignore his hands at her waist.<p>

'_It's just dancing_,' she reminded herself. _'Don't think about how at any minute you could go up in flames… oh glob don't think about it… oh glob you did YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT oh glob what if he just randomly lights up?_!'

She squeezed her eyes shut, tucking her chin on his shoulder before she felt a tap. She turned away, bright eyes fixed on the gloomy teen in front of her.

"Can I cut in?"

Okay, not really gloomy, but more demanding now.

"Sure," The Prince replied, releasing Fionna. In a second he was lit up again, and making his way out to the balcony.

Fionna tried not to think of the flames.

Marshall's eyes followed the Prince until he was out of sight, as did Fionna's before he took her hand in his to dance with her properly. He held her hand in one, while his other fit itself to her waist, Fionna's own free hand settling on his shoulder as she quirked her head at him in amusement.

_Life's too short to even care at all._

"Gumball really got you," She laughed, bringing her hand up to thumb at his jawline where an indent of a line was. She could feel little stubble.

_I'm coming up now, coming up now, out of the blue._

Marshall twitched under the sudden warmth, feeling the pad of her thumb brush against his skin carefully.

_These zombies in the park, they're looking for my heart._

"Y-yeah. That chord was like a whip."

_A dark world aches for a splash of the sun._

Fionna didn't say anything about his sudden stutter, or maybe she didn't notice, but she returned her hand to his shoulder and they moved together to the song again, only this time she avoided his eyes.

_If I could find a way, to see this straight_

"Why don't you like him?"

_I'd run away_

"What?"

_To some fortune that I should have found by now_

She squinted her eyes at him, pushing herself away to grab at his tie neatly tucked into his vest and brought him down to her height.

_Restore life the way it should be_

"Don't think I haven't noticed. You didn't even let me be in the same room as him back at your house, and you didn't even let him be comfortable at mine."

_Waiting for this cough syrup to come down._

He turned his face away from hers, trying to pry away her fingers.

"You live in a giant tree house. He's fire."

"Ugh, whatever," She grumbled, releasing her hold on him.

"No, not whatever…"

Fionna looked at her side where LSP stood afloat, hands at his mouth with his lips pursed in an O.

"_Drama bombbbb_," He cooed, eyes positively glowing.

"Don't you have Brandy to find?" Marshall eyed the Prince warily.

LSP's eyes turned hard.

"Whatever! Just…YOU CAN CONTINUE YOUR LOVER'S QUARREL _WITHOUT ME!"_

Fionna really didn't know what to think as she watched LSP scurry away with what she was sure were tears.

Marshall merely snorted, arms crossed and flicking his bangs away.

"_Lover's quarrel_, what the fuck?"

Fionna's lips were in a thin line.

"Sorry, I shouldn't cuss around you so much. I know you don't like it," He mumbled, his hard exterior crumbling as he brought a shaky hand to fix his tie. "And I'm sorry I was being… _difficult_ earlier."

"It's okay," she mused, pushing her bangs away from her face to see him more clearly. "I know you were just trying to keep your image as the '_number one bad boy_' around here, dude."

He laughed halfheartedly with her before sighing.

"Yeah, Fi, you got me."

_I'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control._

* * *

><p><em>sigh <em>marshall lee in my mind has no shame in hitting on gumball because thats just his character  
>and a hyper fionna waking up a sleepy cranky gumball is awesome<br>i ended up getting food poisoning valentines day and wasn't able to post this up, so this is long overdue and  
>i had a lot of things to attend to over the weekend, sorry about that.<p>

i have a tumblr: itsonlyjustoutofreach. tumblr .com which is mostly glee, but if im lagging and if any of you have  
>a tumblr, feel free to send something in my ask like "hey update already how hard is it to write"<br>and i'll jump right on it. i listened to cough syrup sung by Darren Criss the other day, and it's wonderful, i had to include it.  
>also when nat drew the flame prince i was like <em>oh god what if fionna has a thing for bad boys that mohawk though<em>


	6. cause i'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby

"You seem off today."

Fionna glanced up at Marshall Lee seated across from her, his mouth wearing a frown and his eyes giving her a questionable look. She averted her eyes back to the window, fiddling her thumbs together and disregarding her assignment in front of her.

"I don't have to teach you today, if you want…?" The Vampire King trailed off, unsure of the situation.

"No, it's nothing," She sighed, turning back to him.

"It's obviously something if you keep losing focus every two seconds," He retorted, crossing his arms.

She squirmed in her chair at his stern gaze, glaring at him before replying, "I haven't seen the Flame Prince in a while."

He snorted at her, twirling a pen in his hand.

"That's what's got your panties in a twist?"

"Shut up," She spat, ignoring the heat rushing to her face. "He could be kidnapped."

"I'm _sure_ the Ice Queen would appreciate that walking wildfire in the Ice Kingdom."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No, but I could start. _Are you mocking me?"_

"Stop."

"_Stop_," He repeated in a nasal tone.

"Marshall, I'm gonna punch you in the face!" She roared.

"_Marshall, I'm gonna-_"

All Marshall Lee remembered was Fionna scrambling up on the desk, him thinking_, hmm, kinky_, and then sudden white hot pain – blackness seeping into his vision.

And then nothing.

* * *

><p>Marshall Lee woke up from a clanking noise next to his ear. He opened his eyes lazily, vision zeroing in on a steaming mug on a table. He propped himself up on his forearms, confusion spreading over his face as he realized he was on his couch, and hearing humming from his kitchen.<p>

What the hell?

Said humming noise was coming closer, and the padding noises of footsteps were suddenly at the kitchen door leading into the living room.

He drew his head up, eyes locking with none other than Fionna.

Her humming immediately stopped, and she nervously shifted on her feet from side to side by the door, sporting her one-piece red pajamas, and a bandage wrap around her wrist.

"Marshall-"

"What happened?" He asked, his voice hoarse. He felt a dull pain on his jaw as he spoke.

"Well, I called Cake because I was scared and it was really _really_ quiet in the house so she came over and brought my stuff because I didn't know when you would wake up and I felt _really_ guilty so I'm staying the night just so you know since it's around twelve now, oh and I made you tea. It's there by your side."

"I noticed," He mumbled, choosing to ignore her rambling. "My question is, though, _what happened_?"

"Well…" She trailed off, biting her lip and taking slow steps into the room. "You pushed me to my limits and I punched you."

"You punched me."

"Yeah, and then you sort of knocked out after."

"You punched me and then I blacked out."

"Yeah, on the jaw."

Well that explained the dull ache.

"Unbelievable."

She scurried to his side, leaping onto the couch so to hover over his frame, eyes pleading and lips in a pout. "_Please, please, please_ don't be mad! Oh _glob,_ I didn't mean to! I mean, yeah, I wanted to punch your lights out, but not literally!"

He sighed, lying motionless as she attempted to give him a hug from the awkward angle until he pushed her away lightly, sitting up on the couch and trying not to sway from the pain.

"It's fine."

"I'm still sorry!"

She threw her arms around him, squeezing him into a hug and then releasing him, peering up at his jawline. There weren't any bruises, but when she touched it, he flinched and swatted her hand away.

"The Flame Prince must be some guy for you to punch me over," he snorted, picking up the mug from the table and having a swing.

It burned in his mouth a little, and he tasted cherries.

She didn't say anything.

"Are you serious?" He looked at her, eyes narrowing. "You can't be serious."

She blanched visibly, looking everywhere but him.

"Well, he's nice…"

"Gumball's nice."

"He has this fire cat friend or something named Flambo…"

Marshall Lee tried really hard to ignore that_ Flambo_ sounded an awful lot like _Hambo_.

"Okay never mind I don't want to hear this," He rolled his eyes. "You said it was twelve, right? Go upstairs and sleep."

"But that's your room-"

"You said the couch hurts? Then go sleep in my bed, I don't care since I can just float here anyway."

Fionna pursed her lips before climbing up the ladder into his room.

* * *

><p>"Gumball, she likes the Flame Prince."<p>

"_She what?_" Gumball gasped from the other line.

"SHE LIKES THE FLAME PRINCE," He yelled into the phone, pacing back and forth in his living room. He dragged a pale hand through his fringe, huffing.

"Did she specifically tell you this, or…?" Gumball trailed off.

"Well, _no_, but you should've seen her face! She totally digs the dude!" Marshall groaned, "What does he have that I don't? A mohawk? Okay, sure, that hairstyle is_ legit,_ BUT I SHAVED OFF THE SIDE OF MY HEAD ONCE, AND _CAN HE SING? NO._ I DIDN'T THINK SO."

"…Is this bothering you?" He could hear Gumball snort from the other end.

"What?" Marshall hissed.

"It _is _bothering you! Oh my goodness, Marshall Lee, you're jealous!" Gumball was in absolute hysteria.

"I'm not jealous," Marshall grumbled back somewhat unconvincingly, all the while making his way into the kitchen.

"You are," Gumball sighed. "It's very cute actually, I'm sure Fionna would appreciate a King and Prince fighting for her affections."

"`M not fighting for her affections," another grumble.

"Says the vampire who rang me right after Fionna left the house," Gumball shot back.

Marshall rolled his eyes, hopping onto the kitchen counter and poking a fang into an apple. "I'm gonna hang up now."

"Wait! Okay, how about I schedule you and Fionna in for the –"

"Schedule? Yeah, no thanks Bubba, but I think I'm gonna take a well-deserved nap."

"_Well-deserved nap?_ You haven't done anything today but complain to me!" Gumball said, clearly exasperated as he huffed out a breath.

"Let's just say it's gonna be a long day tomorrow, and I have a gig."

"You're not telling me you have something planned, are you?"

"Loosen up a little, Bubs."

* * *

><p>Prince Gumball was in his study, eyes scanning over countless notepads and books when Fionna came in from the opened door, cheeks tinged pink and a shy aura.<p>

"Hiya," Fionna mused, leaping onto the couch Gumball was currently occupying.

"Good afternoon, Fionna," Gumball smiled in return.

He pulled off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes tiredly and then closed the notebook in his lap, setting his pen down from taking notes and tossed it onto the textbook that was opened at the coffee table. "What can I do for you today?"

The adventurer shrugged, kicking her legs across Gumball's lap and sighing. "I'm bored."

"So-"

"Okay, I'm actually _not_ bored. I really just wanted to ask how Flame Prince is doing? I haven't seen Ice Queen _at all_ in the past week and I'm-"

"-Afraid he's been kidnapped?" Gumball finished. He quirked a curious brow at her, suddenly seeing what Marshall had been ranting on about. "He's doing well; he's back in his Kingdom for now. He writes often."

"Oh."

Fionna fumbled with her hands a little, twisting them a bit before looking back up at Gumball. "Did he say if he'll be coming back?"

Gumball resisted the urge to frown. "He says he'll maybe come back up in the spring, that's all I've heard. Ah, also, I've been meaning to ask how Marshall's lessons are going."

Fionna seemed to perk up a little at that, sitting a bit straighter and eyes a bit brighter. Gumball suppressed a sigh of relief. At least there was still some interest there.

"Great, actually! Marshall's a cool dude! Sometimes if I get there early I can hear him jamming upstairs in his room," Fionna beamed. "He said tomorrow he'll take me to one of his shows."

Gumball balked. "His shows?"

"Yeah! LSP told me they're bananas! Everyone loves them!"

"Did Marshall mention if these shows were appropriate and safe?"

"No, I can take care of myself! But LSP said he thought I'd be fine."

_Yeah, except in the mosh pits_, Gumball thought with an inward groan.

"I could come with you," Gumball offered, fighting back a shudder. He hated going to Marshall's shows. The last time he went to one, Marshall spent his breaks trying to get him to dance with him (to inappropriate music with inappropriate moves to match, mind you, otherwise he probably would've accepted), and during his actual playing time he'd poke fun at Gumball from the stage, drawing attention to the Prince standing awkwardly by a speaker. (He had been wearing his pajama shirt, the one Marshall had given him as a gift and one of Marshall's peers stared at him suspiciously before saying, 'Isn't that Marshall Lee's? Are you two dating?' and Gumball choked on his own saliva.)

To his somewhat relief, he saw Fionna shaking her head no.

"It'll be fine. _I'll_ be fine," Fionna reassured. "You shouldn't worry so much."

"With Marshall, I feel like I have to," Gumball chuckled half-heartedly. "Stay safe."

"Ugh, you sound like Cake!"

"And don't talk to strangers."

"_Gumball!_"

* * *

><p><strong>walk into the club like <em>what up i just updated languages after a whole year<em>**

**wey hey**! it's been a year since i updated!  
>i'm really sorry but in this past year a little band called one direction decided to take over my life<br>((especially larry stylinson sigh what a beautiful cute smitten couple))  
>also i saw the bad little boy episode and <em>it's all i've ever hoped and dreamed for<em> i can feel myself tearing up as i type this sigh_  
>you've got a thing for me girl, it's apparent <em>ohohoh goodbye  
>hey guys honestly <strong>you guys should send me asks<strong> **on tumblr**: itsonlyjustoutofreach to get me to jump on these chapters  
>this chapter isn't much but i got tired of keeping yall waiting so here we are<p>

if there are any mistakes in here i apologize it's been a long school day okay i love you all bye until next time!


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